On 4th May 1536, an imprisoned George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, received a letter of comfort from his wife, Jane, and two more men were arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London…
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George must have been gladdened to read the comforting note from his wife but he still must have felt very anxious, him and his sister had not been given any chance to defend themselves merely taken to the Tower and held there, but Jane had promised to petition the king on his behalf and this behaviour is in direct contrast to how those see her as a spiteful envious woman who betrayed her husband and the queen, she was not mentioned in the sources along with the other women, Wingfield and Cobham etc, so how she got this reputation is odd, there is nothing that tell us they had an unhappy marriage it’s more likely they were friends more than lovers in a sense, they rubbed along pretty well, they had known each other from very young and marriages amongst the nobility were made for convenience, they knew this it was the world they lived in, and Janes fortunes had risen with the Boleyn’s after she married George, so poor Jane must have felt thoroughly frightened when her husband was arrested, and when we see the difference in the kings behaviour in the case of Catherine Howard when an inquiry was set up and it took months whilst Catherine was kept first under house arrest, then finally taken to the Tower, with his second queen it happened in a matter of weeks, Jane had long been at court, she had served two queens her father Lord Morley was a supporter of the Lady Mary but Jane was a Boleyn by marriage so she must have felt in the middle at times, she was through her mother a cousin of the king being a descendant of John Beaufort, she was no gullible naive girl she knew the way the court worked, after his death she wore black all her life a sign of her mourning, she was also in debt and needed Cromwells help for support from her father in law Thomas Boleyn, so no Jane did not betray her husband it is mere myth, why ruin your own family ? whilst George languished in the Tower Sir Francis Weston a young handsome and popular courtier was also arrested and William Brereton a dour fifty year old, who it is believed was chosen especially by Cromwell as he had clashed with him over his dealings in wales, this was of course the devious secretary’s chance to rid himself of a man who was a thorn in his side, yet would people believe Anne would have wanted to enjoy a full sexual relationship with an elderly man, today we would say he’s young but in his day he would be considered old,, why would Anne look twice at him? We do not know what he looked like but he was no gallant, and not among the men of the queens household or the kings, with Weston young and handsome the charge becomes more feasible but even so, any at court knew I cludi g Henry himself, that it was no easy feat for a queen to have lovers, for one thing she would have had to have one or two of her most trusted ladies in on her secret, she would have needed aid undoubtedly like in Catherine’s case, yet no women were ever arrested with her, I feel Cromwell considered that five men were enough as scapegoats and harsh though the age was, I don’t think he actually wished to have to shed another woman’s blood, he may have quite liked the company of women for all we know, he was married with children but I feel he was not popular at court, he was the kings secretary and I feel he was feared and mistrusted quite possibly, he could well have been sneered at by the nobles especially Norfolk who was a very proud man, we do not know why these men were chosen, but it had to be those who attended Anne daily and so Weston and Norris were in the frame, Weston especially after Anne had mentioned him, Brereton obviously because he had angered Cromwell and George as they decided to throw in incest as well, Mark had a lot of pressure put on him and more than likely was promised with a merciful death in exchange for a confession, as his nobleman’s death attests instead of the traitors one at Tyburn he would have had to endure, so now Cromwell had more suspects rounded up, all innocent one a wretched queen, and all the whilst Englands merry king continued to wine and dine Jane Seymour.